Refrigerator



June 28,1960 w. H. SCHMELING 2,942,438

REFRIGERATOR Filed Nov. 23, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

HIS ATTORNEY June 28, 1960 w. H. SCHMELING 2, 2, 8

REFRIGERATOR Filed Nov. 23, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

H 2%. /awywwg HIS ATTORNEY United States Patent REFRIGERATOR William H. Schmeling, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 23, 1955, Ser. No. 548,606

2 Claims. (Cl. 62--377) The present invention relates to mechanical household refrigerators and more particularly to a refrigerator which has at least two separate compartments and a door.

In present day household refrigerators, the frozen food compartment generally is located within the cold compartment to be accessible when a front door of the refrigerator is opened. When this arrangement is employed, much of the cold food storage compartment is deprived of much of its most usable and, therefore, valuable shelf space. Further, it has been determined that the door of the household refrigerator most frequently opened is the door to the cold compartment wherein the normal household eatables are stored, and that the door to frozen food compartment is infrequently opened.

To'overcome the above difiiculties, it has been suggested that the frozen food compartment be contained in a separate unit. This, of course, means that the purchase of two complete units is required which is not only costly but requires a great deal of floor space. Another arrangement is to divide the frozen food compartment from the cold compartment and to provide the frozen food compartment with a separate door. The latter arrangement is objectionable in that the frozen food compartment deprives the cold compartment of the most valuable accessible shelf space. Further, it has been determined that the area of the shelves immediately adjacent the door opening is the most useful. To take advantage of this fact, the present day refrigerators are provided with storage shelves which are carried inside the door and with shelves that are movable inside of the refrigerator. From the foregoing, it is apparent that up to a certain point, the usable storage capacity'of a domestic refrigerator is not dependent on cubic volume exclusively but on the shelf area that is presented adjacent the door opening.

It is an object, therefore, of the present invention to provide a household refrigerator with the maximum shelf area which is located immediately adjacent the door opening.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator wherein the frozen food compartment, the cold compartment, and the shelves compartment on the door all have substantially the same vertical and hori zontal dimensions and wherein a single handle is actuatable to selectively expose the three compartments.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator with a single handle which, when actuated, will permit either the frozen food compartment, the cold compartment or the shelf compartment on the door to be exposed.

A further object of the present invention is to hinge the cold compartment of a household refrigerator on a frozen food compartment and to hinge a door having shelves which are normally exposed to the cold compartment on the cold compartment and to support all of said compartments on a single base.

-A- still further object 'of the present invention is to provide a household; refrigerator with a cold compare mentwhich has two open sides, one of which is closed by the frozen food compartment and the other of which is closed by a door having shelves which are normally exposed to the cold compartment and to provide the refrigerator with a single handle which, when properly actuated, will selectively expose the shelves on the door and one side of the cold compartment or. the other'side of the cold compartment andthe frozen food compartment.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings where in preferred embodiments of the present invention are clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the refrigerator cab inet of the present invention showing the parts in a nor mal position.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the refrigerator in Figure 1 with the frozen food compartment and one side of the cold compartment exposed.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the refrigerator in Figure 1 with the cold compartment and the shelf compartment inside the door exposed.

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic showing of the latch mechanism for opening the compartments of the refrigerator shown in Figure l. I

In the drawings, and in Figure I particularly, the refrigerator 20 shown has a frozen compartment 22, a cold storage compartment 24 and a door 26 which preferably has shelves and other food storage receptacles 28. All of these parts are carried on a unitary base 30.

The first, or frozen food compartment, 22, most clearly shown in Figure 2, is entirely carried by the base 30 of the refrigerator. This compartment 22 may'have any suitable shelf and cooling arrangement and in the embodiment shown is provided with'cooling coils, or tubes, 32, which may be included either in the shelves or in the walls, as desired, to maintain the food which is kept in the individual packages 34 in 'a frozen condition. The compartment 22 also may be provided with 'a single or a plurality of individual doors 36- as shown which permit access to the food stored in packages 34 and prevent the rapidheat exchange between compartments '22 and 24 of the refrigerator. The frozen food 'compartment 22 extends over the entire height and width of the refrigerator and is located on base30- to define the entire rear wall and a portion only of the side walls of the refrigerator. The base of the refrigerator is preferably arranged to carry the mechanical and necessary components of the refrigerating system. which provide and circulate the necessary cooling fluids or gases through the coils 32 of the refrigerator.

The second, or cold storage, compartment, 24, of the.

refrigerator is supported on the frozen food compartment 22 by a hinge 38. The compartment 24 is preferably maintained at a warmer temperature than the frozen food compartment so that the food articles which are used daily may be stored on shelves 40. These shelves are preferably provided with upstanding flange portions 42 and 44 which will prevent the articles as stored on shelf 40 from sliding from the shelves when the compartment 24 is pivotally moved'onhinge 38 from the normal position shown in Figure l to the position as shown in Figure 2. When the arrangement shown in Figure 2 is used, both the rear portions of the shelf 40 and the front of the frozen food compartment 22'are readily'accessible.

While in the embodiment shown, the compartment 24 is cooled by the transfer of heat through doors 36 and thus receives its cooling from compartment 22, desired,

the cold storage compartment 24 also may be provided with cooling coils which may be located in or on the walls thereof or be included in the shelves 40. These coils are not shown and' may be connected with a mechanical refrigerating apparatus, contained in base 30 by either providing a flexible connection between the cold storage compartment 24 and the base 30 or by connecting the necessary cooling tubes through the hinge 38 as is well known to those skilled in the art and is not a part of the present invention.

The cold storage compartment 24 in the preferred embodiment of the present invention has the same horizontal and vertical width and height as the frozenfood compartment 22. It is to be noted that the, base 30 is arranged to project beyond the frozen food compartment 22 and under the cold compartment 24. This extension of the base is provided to prevent the refrigerator 20 from tipping forward when the cold storage compartment is moved to the position shown in Figure 2. It is also contemplated in the present invention that it may be necessary to provide an additional support, other than hinge 38, for the cold storage compartment 24 when it is pivoted relative to the frozen food compartment 22 and base 30. This support may include the use of a suitable roller 46 which is movable in a groove 48 in the base 30'. This roller will provide a free movement to the compartment 24 as it is pivoted on the hinge 38 and will provide ample support for and, if desired, may be used to limit the pivotal movement of the compartment 24 relative, to base 30.

Referring now to Figure 3, of the drawings, it will be seen that the door 26 is pivotally mounted on the compartment 24 in the conventional manner through hinge 50. This door is preferably provided with a plurality of sections 28 wherein articles of food may be stored and, when opened, will provide free access to the articles of food which are stored in the forward portions of shelf 40 or to the sections 28 which are disposed on the inner surface of the door. This arrangement will further increase the useful storage space of the refrigerator. The door shown in the drawings is sized to expose the base 30. If necessary for appearance purposes, the door may be made to conceal the base.

As seen in Figure 1, only a single unitary handle 52 is provided on the refrigerator 20. This handle will control the action of the latch means 54 which maintains the compartment 24 in its normal position'relative to compartment 22 and a latch means 56 which maintains the door 26 in its normal position relative to the compartment 24. The latch means 54 and 56 and handle 52 are diagrammatically shown in Figure 4. The handle 52 is provided with a switch button 58 which, when depressed, will complete a circuit to a solenoid coil 60. The latch means 54 includes a keeper 61 which is fixed within the Walls of the compartment 22 of the refrigerator. The keeper 61 includes a fixed member 62 and a movable member 64 which is pivotally mounted on member 62. The member 64 is urged through spring 66 toward member 62 so that a pair of rollers 68 and 70, as carried on members 62 and 64, will be urged toward each other. The latch 72, which engages keeper 61, is pivotally mounted on compartment 24 through the pin 74. The latch 72 has a hook portion 76 which engages behind roller 70 and is maintained in the engaging position by roller 68. The latch 72 also is provided with a bell-crank arm portion 78. This bell-crank is pivotally connected through pin 80 with a rod 82 that is connected with the plunger 84 of the solenoid 60. Thus, when the switch button 58 on handle 52 is depressed to close the circuit to the solenoid 60, the solenoid plunger 84 will be moved to the left as in Figure 4 and the hook portion 76 of the latch will be moved upwardly against the force of the spring 66 so that the hook portion 76 may pass over roller 70 when the handle is pulled to the right so the 4 cold compartment 24 may be pivotally moved on hinge 38.

The latch means 56 which is used to hold the door in position relative to compartment 24 includes a roller 86 which is fixed within the walls of compartment 24 and a roller 88 which is mounted on a bell-crank 90 which is pivoted through pin 92 on the walls of the compartment 2 4. The latch portion of the latching means 56 includes a latch 91 which has a hook portion 94 which is arranged to extend between rollers 86 and 88 and a bell-crank portion which is held in position on door 26 by pin 96. The handle 52 is provided with a lever portion 98 which extends beyond the fulcrum 100. The lever portion 98 is arranged to move a pin 102 to the left when the handle is pulled, that is, when the portion of the handle which carries the switch button 58 is moved to the right. The leftward movement of the pin 102 will cause the hook portion 94 to move downwardly against the roller 88 to separate the rollers 86 and 88 so the hook portion 94 may pass between the rollers 86 and 88 and the door 26 may be opened.

The plunger 84 of solenoid 60 and the bell-crank lever 90 of the latch means 56 are interconnected through a connecting link 104. This link 104 is normally urged to the right by the spring 106 which reacts on the solenoid plunger 84. The link 104 includes a rod portion 108 which is connected with plunger 84 and a link 110 which has one end connected with bell-crank lever 90 and the other end bifurcated at .112 as shown. The bifurcated end 112 has slots 11-4 therein which limit the movement of travel of a pin 116 which is secured on the end of rod 108. Pin 116 is normally urged to the right by a spring 118 which has one end seated on the turned over portions 120 of the bifurcated end 112 and the other end seated against pin 116.

From the above, it is apparent that when solenoid 60 is energized, the plunger 84 will move to the left. This will cause the springs 106 and 118 to be compressed. The compression of spring 118 will be transmitted through the bifurcated end 112 of link 110 and will prevent downward movement of roller 88 to oppose, in turn, any movement of the handle 52 on its fulcrum 100. Thus, when it is desired to pivot compartment 24 relative to compartment 22, the door 26 will be locked against move- -ment relative to compartment 24 and the depression of the switch plunger 58 and a suitable pull on handle 52 will cause the compartment 24 to move relative to compartment22. On the other hand, if it is desired to pivot the door 26 relative to compartment 24, the handle is pivoted on fulcrum without depressing the switch plunger 58. This will cause the release of the latch means 56 without disturbing the latch means 54. This is accomplished through the lost motion connection of link 104 which is provided by the bifurcated end 112 between rods 108 and 110. When the solenoid plunger 84 isin the position shown in Figure 4, and the handle 52 is moved, spring 118 will be compressed and the rod will be relatively free to move to the right so roller 88 may move downwardly. This will permit the latch means 94 to pass between rollers 88 and 86 and allow the door 26 to be moved relative to both compartments 22 and 24.

It is to be understood that it is within the spirit and scope of the present invention to reverse the relative location of the frozen food and cold storage compartment. While this modification is not shown in the drawings, it comprehends an arrangement whereby both sides of the frozen food compartment, which would be hinged on the rear compartment 22, would be closed by individual doors such as doors 36 in Figure 2. Further, if desired, both the rear compartment 22 and compartment 24 could be supplied with the proper amount of refrigerating fluids and cooling surfaces to cause both compartments to be either frozen food or cold storage compartments, as desired, to provide a household refrigerator with the maximum amount of usable and freely accessible shelf space.

While the embodiments of the present invention as herein disclosed constitute preferred forms, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In a refrigerator, a base, a compartment mounted on a base a refrigerator evaporator in said base mounted compartment, a second compartment cooled by said evaporator and pivoted on said first compartment and having two normally open sides, one of which is closable by said first compartment when said second compartment is in a normal position, means between said base and second compartment for supporting said compartment when said compartment is moved from the normal position, means for normally holding said second compartment in said normal position, adoor pivotally mounted on said second compartment for closing the other open side thereof and a handle carried by said door for releasing said holding means.

2. In a refrigerator, a base, a stationary compartment mounted on said base, a normally closed stationary compartment door, a refrigerator evaporator in said base mounted compartment, an intermediate compartment cooled by said evaporator and pivoted on said stationary compartment and having two normally open sides, one of which is closable by said stationary compartment when said intermediate compatment is in a normal position, means for normally holding said intermediate compartment in said normal position, a door pivotally mounted on said intermediate compartment for closing the other open side thereof, and a handle associated with said last named door for releasing said holding means.

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Lewis July 3', 1956 

